Weapon handling apparatus

ABSTRACT

Subject disclosure relates to novel and improved apparatus for loading and unloading a single weapon or bomb on the ejector rack of an aircraft. The improved apparatus includes a pair of cantilever elements which are secured to the ejector rack and extend outwardly from opposite sides thereof, a bomb engaging band which extends around the lower periphery of the bomb, a pair of sheave assemblies which are connected to the band and extend upwardly from opposite sides of the bomb, a power hoist which depends downwardly and outwardly from one cantilever element, and a cable which is secured at one end to the other cantilever element and extends downwardly around one sheave, around the other sheave and upwardly to the hoist.

m Sftla'tes' mm 1 Ruggeri WEAPON HANDLING APPARATUS Joseph P. Ruggeri,214 Third Avenue, Cherry Hill, NJ. 08034 Filed: March 18, 1971 Appl.No.: 125,671

lnventor:

US. Cl. 4..., ..244/l37 R, 294/74 Int. Cl ..B64c 1/22 Field of Search...244/137 R, 118 R; 294/11 1,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Stearn ..294/74 X Mahan etal.. Damm 244/137 R X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATlONS 404,694 6/1943ltaly .244/1 37 R are secured to the-, 1-; from {ipposite side iwhichiliextends around the lower periphery of the bomba pair of sheaveassemblies which are con- Jan. 23, 1973 Primary. Examiner-Milton BuchlerAssistdnt ExaminerPaul E. Sauberer AttornyR. S. Sciascia et al ,v

ABSTRACT Subjeet disclosure relates to novel and improved apparatu s,for loading and unloading a single weapon or bomb' on the ejectapparatus include 'rack of an aircraft. The improved pair of cantileverelements which ector rack and extend outwardly ereof, a bomb engagingband 'fl--necte to the band and extend upwardly from op- ;igposite-sidesof the bomb, a power hoist which depends :f'downviardly and outwardlyfrom one cantilever eleent,"and a cable which is secured at one end tothe ther icantilever element and extends downwardly round one sheave,around the other sheave and upardly to the hoist.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJMI 23 I975 SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVENTOR.JOSEPH P. Russem mzkkew ATTORNEY PATENTEDJAH 2 3 ms SHEET 2 BF 2INVENTOR.

JosePu P. Ruesem ATTORNEY WEAPON HANDLING APPARATUS The inventiondescribed herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Governmentof the United States of America for governmental-purposes without thepayment of any royalties thereon'or therefor.

Various types of handling apparatus have been devised'and used in thepast to load and unload bombloads on military aircraft. Considerabledifficulty has been experienced heretofore, however, in providing tionduring loading and unloading operations.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel and improvedbombload handling apparatus which requires the use of onlyone hoistmechanism.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel and improvedbombload handling apparatus which doubles the mechanical advantage ofthe hoist mechanism used, thereby permitting the use ofone 2000 poundcapacity hoist in'raising 4000 pound loads.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an end view partly in section ofa preferred embodiment of theinvention where the bombis being loaded on an aircraft; a

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of-the bomb engaging band of the inventionpositioned around the lower peripheral surface of the bomb. with thesheave assemblies attached to the band' and extending upwardlyfrom-opposite sides of the bomb without the hoist cable being reev'edthrough the sheaves; and

(FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment ofa bombrack to which a bombload assembly may besecured by means of theimproved apparatus of theinvention. I

Referring now the the various figures of the-drawing, it will be notedthat thebombload ejector rack 3 is suspended from the lower, surface ofthe wing or fuselage 5 of the aircraft in any suitable manner. Thebombload ejector rack 3 includesthe elongated structural frame orhousing 7 which-is generally rectangular in cross-section, two. or morebombload suspension hooks 9 positioned in recesses in the bottom of theframe 7, an ejector mechanism H which controls operation of thesuspensionhooks 9'-between:open and closed positions and two or morepairs of adjustable be understood thatforreleaseand ejectionof theentire bombload a suitablemechanical or electrical impulseis employed toenergize theejectormechanism ll, operate thesuspension hooks 9-to theiropen position and release the bombload assembly 15 from the rack 3. Theconventional adjustable sway braces 13 engage the exterior surface ofthe bombload 15 and limit its pitching and yawing movement on thesuspension hooks 9 The bomb engaging band 17 is constructed of anysuitable high tensile strength material and includes a plurality ofapertures 19 equally spaced along its length. The anchor fittings 21 onband 17 include a U- shaped channel element 23 in which the band 17 maybe positioned and a split pin 25 which is secured to the base of thechannel element 23 and extends upwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 2.Apertures in projected portions of the sides of the channel element 23are aligned with a similar aperture in the split pin 25. The bellcrank-shaped link 27is pivotably secured to the anchor fitting by thepin 29 which extends through the apertures in the projected sides of thechannel element 23, the split pin, and one end of the link 27. The link27 is also pivotably connected to the sheave assembly 29 by the pin 31which extends through apertures in the clevis-shaped portion 33 of thebase of the sheave assembly 29 and the other end of the link. The sheavein the sheaveassembly 29 is rotatably mounted in a suitable housingwhich is preferably open on one side along the lower periphery of thesheave to facilitate reeving the sheave in a manner which will be moreapparent hereinafter.

As shown in the drawing, the'cantilever bombload hoist adapter elements39 and 41 may be hooked or securely positioned on the frame or housing 7of the bombload ejector rack 3 such that they project outwardly fromeither or both sides thereof. The upper portion of one end of eachcantilever element includes a hook-shaped projection 39a or 41a which isdesigned such that in its locked position on the ejector rack 3, theinner surface of the end of the projection 39a or 41a engages one sideof the ejector rack frame 7 and the lower portion of the end of theelement 39 or 41 engages the other side of the ejector rack frame 7. Thelower portion of the other end of each cantilever element-39 or 41includes a bifurcated hook-shaped projection 39b or 41b. r

I I It is to be understood that although the dovetailed 7 ends 390 or410 of the cantilever elements are preferablydesigned as describedherein to engate the frame 7 and support a load on a rack which isgenerally rectangular in cross-section, any other suitable design of thecantilever element could be used to engage a similar or other type ofrack frame without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention.

The'hoist 43is of conventional design andprefera'bly includes a gaspowered cable storage and payout reel not shown in the drawing, anelongated tubular arm 43a, asheavc 43bjournaled on the end of arm 43aand a cable 43c. The bifurcated hook-shaped projection 39b or 411; ofthe cantilever element" 39 or 41 is designed to cradle'thetrunnioned'ends of theshaft 43d on which the sheave 43b of hoist 43rotates suchthat thehoist" 43 is supported thereby and extendsdownwardly and outwardly from the bombload assembly -15. When a bomb isto be loaded on the aircraft asindicatedin FIG. 1 of the drawing, thecable 43c of hoist43 extends from the hoist storage and payout reel,through its tubular arm 43a, about the sheave 43b,

about the sheave of sheave assembly 29 on one side of the bomb 15, aboutthe sheave of the sheave assembly 29 on the other side of the bomb 15 toa suitable pin element or the like 45 which when secured in the aperture47 in the cantilever element 41 provides a suitable anchor for the endof cable 43c.

ln operation, when bomb 15 is to be secured on the aircraft, the bomb ispositioned beneath the aircraft wing or fuselage 5 such that theupwardly directed lugs 35 are vertically aligned with the suspensionhooks 9 on the ejector rack 3. The cantilever elements 39 and 41 arethen positioned on the frame of the ejection rack 3 such that theyextend outwardly from opposite sides of the frame. The hoist 43 is thenpositioned and cradled on the bifurcated hook-shaped projection of onecantilever element 39. One end of the bell crank shape link 27 of onesheave assembly is coupled to the end hole of band 17 utilizing anchorfitting 21 and pin 29. The free end of band 17 is passed under andaround the periphery of the weapon at a point near midway between thelugs 35 where a lifting force applied to the band will approximatelypass through the center of gravity of the weapon. The bell cranked shapelink 27 is similarly coupled toa hole in band 17, appropriate to thediameter of the weapon to be raised. The sheave assemblies 29 are thencoupled to the other ends of the bell crank shaped links 27. The cable43c of the hoist is then reeved from the hoist sheave 43b about thesheaves on the sheave assemblies 29 to the anchoring pin 45 in aperture47 of cantilever element 41. The hoist 43 is then energized so thatcable 430 is retracted and the bomb 15 is lifted upwardly toward therack 3 on the aircraft. During the lifting operation, the sheaves in thesheave assemblies 29 are preferably positioned inside the lateralextremities of the bomb 15. In this way, tension in the cable 430increases the gripping action of the band 17 about the bomb 15 and thecylindrical projections 37 on the inside lower edge of the base of thesheave assemblies 29 engage the upper peripheral surface of the bomb.When the lugs 35 on the bomb are fully inserted in the recesses in theejection rack 3, the ejector'mechanism 11 is energized and thesuspension hooks 9 are operated to their closed position where theyengage lugs 35 and secure the bomb on the aircraft bombrack. The hoistcable is slackened sufficiently to permit removal of the sheaveassemblies 29 and band 17. The cantilever element anchor pin 45 isremoved, cable 43c is passed to hoist side of weapon load and hoist 43is removed. Cantilever elements 39 and 41 are then removed from theframe of rack 3 and the aircraft is ready for other preflightoperations. Removal of the bomb 15 from the aircraft is accomplished byreversing the described bomb loading procedure.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. lt is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading a single weapon on an aircraftejector rack, said apparatus comprising:

a weapon engaging band adapted for extending around the lower peripheralcircumference of the weapon and about the center of gravity of theweapon during operation;

first and second anchor fittings connected to said band at locationssubstantially diametrically opposed to each other when said band isadapted for engaging the weapon;

first and second links each having first and second ends with said firstends connected to respective first and second anchor fittings and saidfirst and second links extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom so thatthe second ends of said links are separated a lesser distance from eachother than said first ends;

first and second sheave assemblies respectively connected to said secondends of said first and second links, having a cylindrical bearingadapted for gripping the weapon, said first and second sheave assembliesbeing separated from each other a predetermined distance of less thanthe distance between said first and second anchor fittings duringoperation;

a first cantilever element adapted for securing to the aircraft ejectorrack and for extending outwardly from one side of said rack;

a second cantilever element adapted for securing to the ejector rackopposite said first cantilever element and for extending outwardly fromthe opposite side ofthe ejector rack;

connecting means affixed at one end to the second cantilever element andextending downwardly around said second sheave, around said first sheaveand upwardly to said hoist for tensioning said connecting means so as todraw said band and said cylindrical projections for tightly gripping theweapon during operation.

2. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 1, wherein saidconnectingmeans comprises a cable.

3. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 2, wherein eachanchor fitting may be secured to the band at any of a plurality ofpredetermined points therealong.

4. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 3, wherein eachsheave assembly includes a housing which is open on one side so that thecable may be readily reeved or unreeved.

5. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 4, wherein thehoist is a gasoline powered device.

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading a single weapon on an aircraftejector rack, said apparatus comprising: a weapon engaging band adaptedfor extending around the lower peripheral circumference of the weaponand about the center of gravity of the weapon during operation; firstand second anchor fittings connected to said band at locationssubstantially diametrically opposed to each other when said band isadapted for engaging the weapon; first and second links each havingfirst and second ends with said first ends connected to respective firstand second anchor fittings and said first and second links extendingupwardly and inwardly therefrom so that the second ends of said linksare separated a lesser distance from each other than said first ends;first and second sheave assemblies reSpectively connected to said secondends of said first and second links, having a cylindrical bearingadapted for gripping the weapon, said first and second sheave assembliesbeing separated from each other a predetermined distance of less thanthe distance between said first and second anchor fittings duringoperation; a first cantilever element adapted for securing to theaircraft ejector rack and for extending outwardly from one side of saidrack; a second cantilever element adapted for securing to the ejectorrack opposite said first cantilever element and for extending outwardlyfrom the opposite side of the ejector rack; connecting means affixed atone end to the second cantilever element and extending downwardly aroundsaid second sheave, around said first sheave and upwardly to said hoistfor tensioning said connecting means so as to draw said band and saidcylindrical projections for tightly gripping the weapon duringoperation.
 2. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 1,wherein said connecting means comprises a cable.
 3. The apparatussubstantially as described in claim 2, wherein each anchor fitting maybe secured to the band at any of a plurality of predetermined pointstherealong.
 4. The apparatus substantially as described in claim 3,wherein each sheave assembly includes a housing which is open on oneside so that the cable may be readily reeved or unreeved.
 5. Theapparatus substantially as described in claim 4, wherein the hoist is agasoline powered device.